The present invention relates to brush handles and more particularly to a toothbrush handle having a finger-gripping portion which is capable of deformation by the fingers of the user.
Recent toothbrush designs have been marketed which provide various gripping features to the toothbrush handle in an attempt to produce a better "feel" to the user, while maintaining the structural capability of the brush to provide the necessary pressure to the bristle end of the brush. These handle configurations have taken the form of grooves or other formations on the handle of a unitary structure or, in some instances, a two-part handle is provided wherein a thin layer of soft pliable material is provided on the more rigid portion of the handle to achieve the design objective. In many constructions a thin layer of elastic material in the range of 2 mm is formed onto a rigid handle which results in an aesthetically pleasing handle having little or no ergonomic value to the user.
In the two-part construction, wherein a separate soft and more pliable material is applied to a more rigid handle member, it is often necessary to compromise the requirement to provide a quantity of soft material necessary to allow deformation by the fingers of the user while retaining the rigidity of the more rigid handle of the brush without producing a handle having an unusually large thickness. A relatively thick toothbrush handle would in many instances be unacceptable to the user, in particular where a brush is being provided for use by children or those with smaller hands.
It also must be considered in providing the combination of a soft finger-gripping material to the gripping portion of the toothbrush, that a sufficient structure of the rigid material must be maintained to enable the user to apply pressure to the bristle portion of the brush without damage to the handle, over a period of usage. A necessity therefore has risen to provide a two-element brush in which the flexibility over the length of the handle is controlled while maintaining a desirable thickness to the gripping portion about which the hand of the user envelopes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a handle for a toothbrush or other such appliance which comprises a gripping surface having a finger-deformable portion to present a more desirable "feel" to the user.
A further object of the invention is to provide an article of the type set forth above having a greater thickness of finger-deformable material over the handle length than in devices of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a toothbrush of the type described which contains a deformable finger-gripping portion while maintaining that rigidity in the handle necessary to apply a desirable pressure to the toothbrush bristles.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an article such as a toothbrush handle which is simple in design and easily manufactured while maintaining the objectives set forth above.